Topic: Political Geography • Aim: In

What Ways Is the Political Landscape Formulated?

• Do Now: Review- How did we define a nation, state, and nation-state?

• Political geographers study spatial assumptions and structures underlying politics, the ways people organize space, the role of territoriality in politics, and the problems that result from these circumstances

• Topics include: forms of government, borders, boundaries, shapes of states (territorial morphology), supranational organizations, conflicts and war.

Political Geography: Interaction of politics and

place

• Territoriality:“the attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.”

– Robert Sack

• Sovereignty: having the last say over a territory – legally and militarily

• Citizenship: legal identity of a person based on the state where they were born or where they were naturalized as an immigrant

• A state is an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs.–Occupies defined territory–Permanent population

• A state has sovereignty, which means independence from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Not all territorial entities are states…

• Antarctica, for example, has no government and no consistent population• Colonies and protectorates also do not count as states

• Antarctica is the only large landmass in the world that is not part of a sovereign state. It comprises 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles), which makes it 50 percent larger than Canada. Portions are claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom; claims by Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom are conflicting. In 1959 these seven countries, plus Belgium, Japan, South Africa, the Soviet Union, and the United States, signed a treaty suspending any territorial claims for 30 years and establishing guidelines for scientific research. In 1991, 24 countries agreed to extend the treaty for another 50 years, established new pollution control standards, and banned mining and oil exploration for 50 years.

a.)a population and defined area controlled by an organized

government

1.)The political geographic concept of the state is defined as:

a.)a population and defined area controlled by an organized government

b.)a sub-unit of a federal system such as the United States or Brazil

c.)a population represented by a singular culture

d.)a population with a singular culture and a singular government

e.)the equivalent of a nation or country

• Development of the State Concept– Development of states traced to the Fertile Crescent.

– Evolution of States• First states were known as city-states, which are sovereign states that are comprised of towns and their surrounding countryside.–Walls delineated boundaries.–Area immediately outside walls controlled by city to produce food for urban residents.

• Medieval States–Gained military dominance of individual city-states led to the formation of empires. e.g. Roman Empire–Roman Empire collapse in 5th century led to its land being parceled up and controlled by various monarchies.

Varying Size of States

1.Largest state = Russia (17.1 million square kilometers or 6.6 million square miles)

2.Other large statesa.China (9.3 million square km or 3.6 million square miles)

b.Canada (9.2 million square km or 3.6 million square miles)

c.The United States (9.2 million square km or 3.5 million square miles)

d.Brazil (8.5 million square km or 3.3 million square miles)

e.Australia (7.6 million square km or 2.9 million square miles)

Varying Size of States: •Microstates: Smaller than 1,000 square kilometers: Monaco,Andorra, Antigua, Barbuda, Bahrain, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Malta, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, San Marino, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, etc.

Tonga is a microstate of 102,000 inhabitants and 169 islands, which together add up to 748 square kilometers (289 square miles).

• Development of the Nation-State Concept:• Nation-States in Europe

– A nation-state is a state this territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity.» The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves is known as self-determination.

– After WWI, leaders of the victorious countries met at the Versailles Peace Conference to redraw the map of Europe.» Language most important criterion to create new European states and to adjust existing boundaries.

» Nation-states created by Versailles conference lasted through most of 20th century with little adjustment.

Defining the Nation-State:

• A Nation should have– A single language– A common history– A similar ethnic background

– Unity from a common political system.

• Cultural homogeneity not as important as “national spirit” or emotional commitment to the state.

• A Nation-State has:– Clearly delineated territory

– Substantial population

– Well-organized government

– Shared political and cultural history

– Emotional ties to institutions or political systems or an ideology.

The states we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena.

In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.

Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

C) Western Europe.

The first widespread use of the nation-state concept came in

A) Mesopotamia.B) the Roman Empire.C) Western Europe.D) the United States.E) Southeast Asia.

Colonialism

• Colonialism:• A colony is a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.–Sovereign state may run only its military and foreign policy.–Sovereign state may also control its internal affairs.

• European states came to control much of the world through colonialism, an effort by one country to establish settlement in a territory and to impose its political, economic, ad cultural principles on that territory.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS, 1914 At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, European states held colonies in much of the world, especially in Africa and Asia. Most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere were at one time colonized by Europeans but gained their independence in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.

• Colonies– The Remaining Colonies• U.S. Department of State lists 68 places in the world that it calls dependencies and areas of special sovereignty. –43 indigenous populations–25 with no permanent population–Most current colonies are islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.»Ex. Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the U.S., is home to 4 million residents who are U.S. citizens, but they do not participate in U.S. election or have a voting member of Congress.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS, 2012 Most remaining colonies are tiny specks in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, too small to appear on the map.

• Nation-states and Multinational States–A state that contains more than one ethnicity is a multi-ethnic state.• Multitude of ethnicities in some cases all contribute cultural features to the formation of a single nationality. e.g. United States of America

–A multinational state is a country that contains more than one ethnicity with traditions of self-determination. e.g. Russia

Creation of new states after the breakup of the Soviet Union

STATES IN THE FORMER U.S.S.R. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics included 15 republics, named for the country’s largest ethnicities. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the 15 republics became independent states.

• Independent Nation-States in Former Soviet Republics

• Three Baltic States–Estonia»Mostly Protestant (Lutheran)»Speak a Uralic language related to Finnish

–Latvia»Mostly Protestant (Lutheran)»Speak a language of the Baltic group

–Lithuania»Mostly Roman Catholic»Speak a language of the Baltic group within the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family

• Three European States1.Belarus2.Ukraine3.Moldova– Three states speak similar East

Slavic languages– All are predominantly Orthodox

Christians.»Some western Ukrainians are Roman Catholics

• Five Central Asian States– Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan»Predominantly Muslims»Speak an Altaic language

–Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan Predominantly Muslims, speak an Altaic language–Tajikistan: Predominantly Muslims, speak a language in the Indic group of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European language family

ETHNICITIES IN CENTRAL ASIA The map shows the distribution of ethnicities in Central Asia.

• The Largest Multinational State: Russia– Russia’s 160 ethnicities are clustered in two principal locations.1.Along borders with neighboring

states–Buryats and Tuvinian near Mongolia–Chechens, Dagestani, Kabardins, and Ossetians near the Azerbaijan and Georgia

2.Clustered in the center of Russia, especially between the Volga River basin and the Ural Mountains.–Most numerous ethnicities include Bashkirs, Chuvash, and Tatars.

ETHNICITIES IN RUSSIA Russians are clustered in the western portion of Russia, and the percentage declines to the south and east. The largest numbers of non-Russians are found in the center of the country between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains and

near the southern borders.

ETHNICITIES IN THE CAUCASUS Armenians, Azeris, and Georgians are examples of ethnicities that were able to dominate new states during the 1990s, following the breakup of the Soviet Union. But the boundaries of the states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia do not match the territories occupied by the Armenian, Azeri, and Georgian ethnicities. The Abkhazians, Chechens, Kurds, and Ossetians are examples of ethnicities in this region that have not been able to organize nation-states.

Challenges to the State:

• Globalization of economies/transnational corporations (Wal-Mart, e.g..)

• Supranational Organizations (UN)

• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s)

• Migration Flows• Nationalist/Sepratist Movements Worldwide

Territoriality of the Seas (no, it’s not just land that

countries have control of!)

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) -

1982:• Territorial sea (up to 12nm): coastal states have sovereignty and exclusive fishing rights - innocent vessels can pass through

• Contiguous Zone (up to 24nm): Coastal sates can enforce customs, immigration, and sanitation laws

• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): up to 200 nautical miles out, a country has exclusive rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources

Issues of defining states:

• Political differences can cause some territories to not be recognized as independent, testing the traditional definition of a state.Examples:– Korea (2 states)– China and Taiwan-2 states?• Western Sahara: Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)–Most African countries consider Western Sahara a sovereign state.–Morocco claims the territory.»Built a 2,700 km. (1,700 mi) wall around it to keep ‘rebels’ out.

WESTERN SAHARA Morocco built sand walls during the 1980s to isolate Polisario Front rebels fighting for independence

• China claims Taiwan as part of Mainland China, however Taiwan maintains sovereignty and distinctive culture

Fighting and Civil War:

Mao ZedongLeader of

Communist Army

Chiang Kai-shekLeader of

Nationalist Army

VS.

http://unimaps.com/chinaLongMarch/largemap.html

Chiang moves

Republic of China to Taiwan

(Democracy)

Mao becomes leader of People’s

Republic of China

(Communist)

China and Taiwan: One State or Two?

1.Communists in mainland China and Nationalists in Taiwan

2.U.S. regarded Nationalists as official government of China until 1971

3.Until 1999, both China and the government of Taiwan agreed that Taiwan was part of China

4.In 1999, Taiwan’s president announced that Taiwan would regard itself as a sovereign independent state

5.Taiwan is now the most populous state not in the U.N.

Problems of Defining States

Korea: One State or Two?1.Former colony of Japan2.After WWII, divided into northern

and southern sections along 38 degrees north latitude (38th parallel)

3.Late 1940s, 2 separate governments: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea)

4.Korean War started when North Korea invaded South Korea

5.Progress toward reconciliation has been halted by North Korea’s decision to build nuclear weapons

A nighttime satellite image recorded by the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program shows the illumination of electric lights in South Korea, whereas North Korea has virtually no electric lights, a measure of its poverty and limited economic activity.

Video - National Geographic - Inside North

Korea